ST. LOUIS – A St. Louis man was sentenced to prison on Friday after he shot and wounded two police officers last year in the city’s Soulard neighborhood.
According to the St. Louis 22nd Judicial Circuit Court, Cortez D. Sipes, 38, received a 20-year prison sentence after shooting the officers on Feb. 2, 2023, as he fled from police for a suspected robbery.
Reportedly, Sipes admitted on Sept. 25 that he fled from officers in his pickup truck around 10:30 p.m. that night in the 800 block of Julia Street. He continued to flee from officers and drove through the Soulard Market, where his vehicle crashed.
After the crash, Sipes opened fire on both officers at their upper bodies, and they returned fire, hitting Sipes in the ankle.
Both officers Sean Miskovic and Lucas Roethlisberger survived their wounds and spoke about the shooting while in court on Friday.
Reportedly, Miskovic shared with the court that he hopes Sipes will find peace and God while imprisoned. He even offered Sipes a red Bible with a personal message of hope inscribed inside of it.
“I pray for you, your family, and your soul,” Miscovic said Friday.
Roesthlisberger also spoke, asking Sipes why he opened fire on them and recalled the moment a bullet entered his side.
“I thought I was going to die,” Roethlisberger said.
Sipes responded with an apology to the officers for his actions that night.
Sipes received a 17-year term for two counts of first-degree assault and a three-year term for two counts of armed criminal action. He additionally pleaded guilty to counts of unlawful gun possession and resisting arrest.
Sipes’ has a previous criminal history of assault on a law enforcement officer and illegal gun possession.
(Except for the headline, this story has not been edited by PostX News and is published from a syndicated feed.)
